So, I have the opportunity to work with a lot of PR reps and company reps when I arrange reviews and just in general.  I have had really exceptional experiences with some companies and with some reps, and it is always the those people who do a good job of communicating with me that I remember and want to help out in the future.  But, I have also dealt with some reps who were not good at their job, who did not communicate and who basically didn’t follow through and turned out to be flaky…even with various follow ups and work on my part (in fact I am dealing with one sponsor right now who hasn’t sent the giveaway winner their prize…and their giveaway ended in MARCH).  I have to say most of the people I work with in my day to day life fall into the middle of being good communicators; not exceptional but not bad either.  So, here are some tips for reps and company people.

* If you would like to arrange a phone call with me to discuss matters that is great!  But please please please, follow through.  This has happened several time: Someone wants to discuss something I am working on more in depth on the phone, so we make a time and I confirm multiple times just to be sure.  I then make sure that I am at home, that the kids are either in bed taking a nap or that they are happily occupied enough to not scream while I am on the phone.  Then I get all my info together and get ready; this takes a lot of planning and effort.  Then…NOTHING…no call, no email to reschedule…nothing.  Now this may not seem like a lot, but it is…I take time and energy to schedule my time around when is good for a rep and then I get nothing; it is disrespectful.  I know that people get busy, but if you can’t make a call then just shoot me a quick email telling me that we need to reschedule.  DON’T not call, not rescheduled, and not be around when I call you…and if I do call and leave a message please get back to me.

* If we have been working together on putting together a review and/or giveaway  please respond to emails where I send you the winner’s information, the link to the review, or anything like that.  I can’t tell you how many times I have worked with a rep arranging a review and/or giveaway and then once we get everything settled and the product ships they stop responding to my emails.  If I have questions…no answer…If I send a link to the review…no answer…If I send the giveaway winner’s info…no answer.  Again, I know you are busy, but typing something like “great” or “thanks for the info” takes about 3 seconds and lets me know that you got the info.  And, if I am trying to ask some questions about the product…don’t leave me hanging…because that means that the product probably won’t be written about in a very positive light.  I find it disrespectfulwhen people don’t even bother to do a quick reply.  I get that the email might have gotten lost, which is why I usually send a follow up about a week later…if that follow up gets ignored, it’s then I start getting a bit annoyed.

* If I take the time to put together a review and giveaway or just a giveaway, please please PLEASE send the giveaway prize out in a timely manner…heck just send the prize all together.  This is something that happens more often then I would like to admit.  I spend a of time putting together a review and giveaway, I moderate all the comments and entries, I place the giveaway in linkies and contest sites to promote them and then I pull the winner making sure they followed the entry requirements.  Then I send the winner’s info off to the rep and I get exactly NOTHING…no response, no shipping info…nothing.  So, I cross my fingers and hope that the rep is going to follow through.  8 out of 10 times the rep does follow through and the winner gets there prize…but on occasion I receive an email from the winner 2-3 weeks later saying “I haven’t received _________”.  I immediately send off an email asking the sponsor what happened and I usually get NOTHING…so I send a follow up and I get NOTHING.  This makes me look bad as well as the sponsor…and since I am in a business where reputation is everything, looking bad is NOT a good thing!  And look, the giveaway is more to promote your company than it is for bring people and traffic to my site, I do a lot of work to promote you so please follow through!

* If I email you with a review inquiry or something of the sort, a NO would be better than a no response.  See a “no” means that you got my email, read it, and responded not interested…that’s cool, I don’t expect yeses every time.  Getting a no also means that I can pursue other avenues for whatever I am workingon.  A no response to my email might mean it went to spam, it might mean that you just skipped over it, it might mean that something is wonky with my email.  This means that I will generally spend the time to send a follow up and then I will wait.  This also means that I won’t pursue other avenues, which leaves me hanging in the long run, especially if I am working on a blog party or special that I am putting together. 

and on a more personal note:

* Let’s start the relationship off on the right foot…can you use my name please?  I will admit to the fact that on a couple of occasionsI have gotten a name wrong…in an initial email a “Dear Ashley” turns into a “Dear Abby”, and I always apologize first thing when I notice, or I send a separate email apology.  But, I have gotten addressed as: “Dear EllieandEve”, “Dear Ellie”, “Hello ______”, “Hello author”, “Hi Vicky”, “Dear Life Starring”, and the list goes on.  Now, if it were hard to find my name on this site I might understand…but since it appears at the bottom of (almost) every post and on my about page…I don’t understand it.